The Human Resource Department should receive more training and give training in a number of areas. The University Community is being under serve by the Human Resource Department

1. HR should be a part of every interviewing process to favoritism especially if the person is not qualified:

a.

HR should keep up on all new and present degrees being awarded to a individual and what skills one received in that area - then in return teach those who are interviewing in their area about these degrees and give input to what a department should look for when making a decision to hiring a candidate.

b.

HR should be on every search committee.

c.

Be a part of every interview regardless of position being quested.

d.

HR should teach interviewing techniques.

e.

HR should have an in-house recruitment person(s) to help seek after the brightness especially in position that seeks for master degree and above.

2.

Ongoing training for HR employees

Restructure

1. Executive Summary

Page 1

2. American Diversity

Page 2

3. Progressive Administration

Page 7

4. Faculty Meetings

Page 8

5. Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Health Sciences

Page 9

6. Money

Page 11

PAGE 1

1.

American DiversityProblem: The United States has begun outsourcing education. Specifically, it is financially advantageous for government, academia, and industry to import educated people from other countries or to export task to educated people in other countries. If there is no demand for an “American made” scholar then there will not be a sustainable supply and a there will be a price drop (c.f. ECON 101).Solution: If an institution uses American money, i.e. U.S. grants, contracts, state or federal support, then their employees should look like America. This will create a demand. A supply will follow.

2.

Progressive Administration and Administrative AccountabilityProblem: Faculty and staff often have ideas to increase efficiency or decrease cost. Currently, lower administrators can be obstacle and barriers to progress and development. If an administrator is failing at their task to often nothing happens.Solution: An avenue for faculty and staff to present their case for progress. Administrators with dismal failure records should be asked to change course or step down.

3.

Faculty MeetingsA time for all full time faculty members should be set aside for meeting.

4.

Science, Engineering and Mathematics and Health ScienceProblem: Students with ambition in STEM fields to have no avenue to success.Solution: Tailor curriculum specific to the needs of STEM students that meets them where they are with the appropriate level of rigor.

5.

Money Saving MeasuresProblem: Budget cuts are comingSolution: Use the full intellect of the faculty and staff for money generating and money saving ideas with an emphasis on the former.

PAGE 2American Diversity

Taxation without representation is an injustice. Indeed, it was one of injustices that led to the revolution that gave birth to this nation. Hence, the diversity of the American-funded workplace should reflect the diversity of America.

This article supports the inclusion of ALL people in this country and opposes the exclusion of American born people in an expanding set of fields. In truth, Pro-American is not, and should not be confused with anti-foreign.

Consider the State of Florida. The population is 78 percent American-born, 22 percent Foreign-born, 73 percent American-born white and 14 percent Foreign-born Hispanic.

The Department of Industrial Engineering (IE) at Florida State University is state supported and has received millions of U.S. federal dollars in recent years. Unfortunately, this same department has a faculty that is less than 7 percent American-born white and has no African-Americans and no Hispanic-Americans. Specifically, the American-born representation looks like tokenism and the African and Hispanic American representation is non-existent. The diversity of our work places should reflect the diversity of our people.

The following schools were recently interviewed: Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, the Materials Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville and the Mathematics Department at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. The majority of funds for these departments come from American born people. Less than half of the faculty members, at these prestigious institutions, were born in America.

At Brown University’s Applied Mathematics Department, Cleveland State University’s Computer Science Department and Florida State University’s Mechanical Engineering Department less than one third of the total faculty are American-born. Please note that American-born people are four fifths of the U.S. population.

In 1996 California passed Proposition 209. The state is more than ¾ white. A decade later the student body at UC-Berkley is less than 1/3 white. Again, the destruction of diversity is devastating to ALL Americans. “We will live together as brothers or perish together as fools”.

Issue: Restructuring of STEM units in three colleges listed below:• College of Arts and Sciences• College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture• Environmental Science Institute

It is clear that STEM fields will be critical in the future development of the US economy. The training of students in these areas will therefore remain a priority and especially so within the scope of FAMU’s unique mission. Against this background, I favor the idea of merging STEM components from the three colleges/institutes into two new colleges as follows:• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences• College of Engineering Technology, Physical and Computer Sciences (Alternative name: College of Physical and Applied Sciences)

Names and re-organization are emotive issues and in the defense of these suggestions, I would like to mention that there are quite a few precedents across the nation and/or internationally i.e. the suggestions are not ridiculous! Most critically however, is the question of whether the arrangement brings value (efficiency) and growth to FAMU and I briefly discuss this in context of one of the suggested new colleges below.

College of Agriculture and Life SciencesThis college will include the following existing Departments/Divisions/Programs: • Agriculture • Biology• Environmental Sciences• Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering• The Land Grant Mission ComponentsIf this idea were accepted, there are exciting possibilities for the establishment of sustainable degree programs and delivering mission in other areas, principally the land grant mission research and extension components.

Why is this a great idea?i. Within the existing entities included above is a tremendous scope for synergy. This would lead not only to the enhancement of existing programs but also the formation of new programs which will capture the collective strength of the faculty but also help in defining new areas for growth over the coming decade.ii. Such a re-organization will create programs that are synergistic and have the potential for growth – attracting students, delivering mission to FAMU’s myriad stakeholders including attracting resources to support mission elements such as research.iii. Of particular importance, are the possibilities for enhancing the development of FAMU’s graduate programs in agriculture and the life sciences – this program has the potential to attract students in the 100s. The linkage and natural fit of academic, research and extension strengths within agriculture and life science areas will play a critical role in supporting graduate research and enhancing research at the university.iv. The new college will provide students (especially those majoring in biology) with a broad range of professional choices which address national needs.v. Enhance research productivity by creating critical mass of faculty in new/emerging areas.vi. Create a college with a sufficiently large student body to realize efficiencies in administrative function. vii. Such an entity should support development of smaller academic programs that are mission critical, even if by necessity numbers of students will always be small.

College of Engineering Technology, Physical and Computer SciencesThis college will include the following Departments/Divisions/Programs:• Mathematics• Physics• Chemistry• Computer Sciences• Engineering Technology

Why is this a good idea?The same reasons above apply to this proposed setup.Out of necessity, students will need to take courses across colleges leading to lateral linkages and synergies. In today’s interlinked universe, this can only need to synergy between colleges and development of integrated programs.

General recommendations/observations

It is critical that the reorganized colleges/schools have simplified and common structures to avoid silos and enhance integration and collaboration. I suggest that the academic units be based on a departmental structure. For instance, in the proposed new structure – The College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies envisaged a School of Agriculture and a School of Environmental Sciences. It will be difficult to prevent the formation of silos within such a structure. Additionally, it creates an additional management layer whose value is questionable. A departmental structure will be flatter and more effective.

There are numerous examples of universities with a similar structure = we are not getting it wrong.

It is important that the reorganization process factor in mission critical activities such as those related to fulfillment of our land grant mission.

Implementing Bottom Up Evaluations

To ensure a comprehensive analysis of the restructuring process please consider the following suggestion:

supervisors should be assessed by their subordinates; while most supervisors are talented and inspiring leaders, communicating well with their team, preparing everyone for success and assuring the division's success, some supervisors tend to be less talented, communicative and less visionary .

For FAMU to position itself for growth and strive to achieve a impeccable reputation in the world, a comprehensive assessment should be done of both employees and their supervisors; not only top down, but also bottom up.

The disadvantage of top down analysis is the fact that some supervisors tend to deny involvement to their employees in various projects; this process of denial is not visible to the above-the-supervisor leader, and many employees tend to be qualified as mediocre. In order to have a motivated workforce that would continue to strive towards excellence the bottom up evaluation system should be devised and implemented.

By implementing the bottom up evaluations, the leadreship team will have a better picture of which leaders are better position to help lead the university reach its long term goals.FAMU is at a crossroads, and this moment it's offering our university a chance to truly strive for excellence, this is the time for complex decisions and leadership with courage. Don't let this opportunity go by without making the best out of it. Sure, times will get tough but let's not waste a good crisis.

As a graduate student at the Environmental Sciences Institute I believe the proposed changes under FAMU's restructuring efforts indeed affect me, my colleagues and the future of the Institute. As such, I thought it necessary to make my point and let my voice (and I'm sure I speak for others that share similar sentiments) be heard.

Environmental Science institute - This is a program that places a lot of focus on an emerging field that covers various sciences and issues that our physical environment (which thereby affects all else) is currently facing. As such, it holds a lot of prestige to have this institute as it draws attention to the field, thereby luring the interest of many individuals to be participative in such a field. Likewise, with goals like that of FAMU's Environmental Sciences Institute, there would be more impetus from outside parties, such us NOAA, NSF and others to sponsor research in this field. Such goals include the formation of a combined College of Environmental Science and Policy, thereby increasing the number of minority, highly qualified environmental scientists and decision makers, and potentially creating new programs that fall under the bracket of much of the environmental issues at the forefront of our society (environmental health, marine science, sustainability, etc.). These goals set a great tone for bringing positive recognition to the university, while placing the institute in a viable position to become a regional/national/international leader for the development of environmental experts. Merging this program with the College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture (CESTA) would simply place a cloud over these goals of having a stand-alone institute. Though there may be opportunity for collaborative research between the two programs, more value is held in allowing the Environmental Sciences Institute to bring these goals to fruition as a distinctive institute."

Where Should the Engineering Technology Programs Go?

Retaining the Engineering Technology Programs in the College of Engineering, Sciences, Technology & Agriculture (CESTA), where they are currently housed, subsequent to the restructuring of the university, is the best option for their continued growth and development. The great majority of the faculty members in this department share this view.

No other college, established or proposed, with the exception of perhaps the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, can come close to providing the high-level of interdisciplinary interaction that currently exists between the Engineering Technology Programs and the BASE Program. In fact, this semester, courses in Engineering Technology are being taught by BASE faculty members while some BASE students are enrolled in Engineering Technology courses. Moreover, several laboratories are shared with the BASE program which allows for optimal utilization of limited resources. And finally, these programs share the same accreditation agency.

With the recommended addition of the Environmental Sciences Program to CESTA, the future looks much brighter for the Engineering Technology Programs, in terms of possible synergistic arrangements, to develop new programs that are in demand such as the Biomedical Engineering and the Environmental Engineering Technology Programs. It is anticipated that both programs will be staffed by existing faculty from BASE, ET, and ESI.

Engineering Technology Programs and the University's Mission

"In my support of the President and Provost's upcoming restructuring efforts, I offer opinions based on my experiences of working with six past Presidents and six Deans in the delivery of engineering technology education here at the university.

The engineering technology programs proudly lay a big partial claim to the historical "M" in the name FAMU. The programs are fully accredited and provide a link to the current STEM efforts in research, training and education being offered by the federal and state government. These programs should be paired with other university entities to continue to support the STEM thrusts of the university as outlined in the University's Strategic Plan. By eliminating any program duplications, a fruitful pairing of the engineering technology programs (civil and electronics) would lead to outstanding increased research and graduate education opportunities. The Proposed College of Science and Technology seems the most logical pairing.

With the FAMU/FSU College of Engineering currently offering a heavy construction component, and the College of Architecture offering a construction related focus, a possible duplication of efforts should be a serious concern for the university in the near future. The university joining the Construction Engineering Technology program with the College of Architecture with a concentration in Construction Management would eliminate any such duplication of effort."

The Best Place for EIT

I understand the need for the University to go through a restructuring process and to cut cost, but concerning EIT/IT, for EIT/IT to be under one division may not be under the Universities best interest and decisions concerning IT could become bias. EIT/IT is a tool and a service for the entire entity that it serves or should serve. Technology should be within its own entity and reportable directly to the President directly. That way technology needs and its importance can be directly communicated to the leader over the entire entity for the benefit of all. Technology and the resources (money, people, training, licensing, maintenance, and warranties) required to implement, maintain and develop is a huge process, cost and need that cannot be ignored which is has in the past. As examples, looking at all State departments, Universities and any business each has a IT department and structure that is its own entity and reports directly to the top person for the purposes mentioned above.

Environmental Issues and Their Impact

Environmental issues (i.e. climate change, water quality, ecosystem health and services) and their impacts on society are at the forefront of current national trends. Accordingly, federal agencies are reorganizing, creating new offices, and allocating significant research dollars to address these issues. Even within the state of Florida many academic institutions are now scrambling to develop and promote highly visible and autonomous environmental programs to capitalize on these trends and to position themselves to be leaders in this arena. Fortunately, fifteen years ago, the Environmental Sciences Institute (ESI) at FAMU was formed as an autonomous unit through a competitive process with the then Board of Regents. This has allowed ESI to establish itself nationally, as well as with several federal funding agencies (i.e. NOAA, DOE, NSF, NIH), as a valuable resource for both research and, most importantly, the training of highly qualified environmental scientists and decision makers. In fact, over the past several years FAMU’s ESI has graduated just fewer than 50% of the nation’s African American Environmental Science Ph.D.’s. Because of these national trends, and so that our students receive the best training to ensure they are highly competitive for the future job market, the vision for FAMU should be to further grow the Environmental Sciences Institute into a fully fledged, highly visible, and autonomous college. If ESI were to become this highly visible and autonomous College of the Environment, FAMU would be well positioned to be the regional/national/global leader in the environmental arena. If it is not possible for ESI to be a stand alone college, one other viable option would be to create a College of Environmental Science and Policy. A merger of these two programs here in the state’s capital would also place the university in a highly competitive position to be THE regional/national/international leader in the production of students best prepared to enter the environmental workforce (science, management and policy). Furthermore, the formation of this College of Environmental Science and Policy would be very complementary to FAMU’s College of Law. To this end, in its Strategic Plan ESI has proposed to offer a joint BS/JD degree.

FAMU: Doctoral Program Idea

“This Spring is my last semester. As I started thinking about my future plans, I realized my options for a doctoral program were limited if I wanted to continue my education at FAMU. I did not receive my undergrad from FAMU, but in the 2 years I have been on campus I have learned a lot about my chosen subject area and life and come to love FAMU.

FAMU's PH.D programs are heavily focused in the sciences. As I started during my research, I was taken back to my alma Mater, the University of Central Florida. UCF offers a unique Ph.D program in Public Affairs, which allows students to pursue specialization in Criminal Justice, Governance and Policy Research, Health Services Management and Research, Public Administration or Social Work. Tallahassee being the state capital provides a great pool of candidates for such a program. In the current restructuring process, this type of program may be a perfect fit for FAMU. While I do not know all the ins and outs of establishing a new degree program, this program may be able to take advantage of resources already in place at the University. If you have time, I ask that you visit http://www.cohpa.ucf.edu/publicaffairs/index.shtml to explore the program. Good Luck in your restructuring process.”

Ideas For College Re-Organization

Issue: Restructuring of STEM units in three colleges listed below:

College of Arts and Sciences

College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture

Environmental Science Institute

It is clear that STEM fields will be critical in the future development of the US economy. The training of students in these areas will therefore remain a priority and especially so within the scope of FAMU’s unique mission. Against this background, I favor the idea of merging STEM components from the three colleges/institutes into two new colleges as follows:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

College of Engineering Technology, Physical and Computer Sciences (Alternative name: College of Physical and Applied Sciences)

Names and re-organization are emotive issues and in the defense of these suggestions, I would like to mention that there are quite a few precedents across the nation and/or internationally i.e. the suggestions are not ridiculous! Most critically however, is the question of whether the arrangement brings value (efficiency) and growth to FAMU and I briefly discuss this in context of one of the suggested new colleges below.

1. It is high time we put institutional interest ahead of personal interest.2. Formation of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences: I suggest the new college name to include Life Sciences, hence the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.The college will include i) Agricultural Sciences, ii) Biological Sciences/Biology and iii) Environmental Sciences. Explanation: Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will provide training in biology for i) Agriculture students, ii) Pre-med students, iii) Environmental students and Pre-vet students.3. The Division of Engineering Technology (currently in CESTA) should be moved to the new college of Science and Technology (as it has no relevancy to Agricultural Sciences).4. The Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering (BASE) Program should remain in the New College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and elevated to a department. BASE has a lot of relevance to Agriculture, Environmental and Biological Sciences (not Engineering Technology).5. Landgrant programs are unique to only two universities in Florida (FAMU and UF) and should be considered so. The university should put a new focus on Landgrant programs (and their unique mission of training, research and extension/outreach)

University Libraries

FAMU Libraries has over 150 databases in the area of science, engineering, social science and technology. Having worked in patent and intellectual property searching during my time at Dialog (6 years), searching for prior art in the creation of patent applications is an important part of the technology transfer process. FAMU Law's course in Intellectual Property may also prove to be useful training for the University staff (via Blackboard and Distance Learning)

Paid research services can prove to be a source of revenue for the university. The customer base can include the legal community. FAMU has trained searchers, the databases are available, the community is available. Since the focus of the databases is still the FAMU community, I believe this can minimize any legal/licensing issues which may arise. There are few independent information professionals (http://www.aiip.org/) so there is a minimum of interference with established search services

Implementing a Campuswide Technology Budget

“As a means of restructuring how we currently purchase hardware, software, and implement other technology throughout the campuses, I would propose implementing a campus wide technology budget that would encompass all departments within the FAMU campus network. This one budget would take into consideration and pay for all departmental technology needs and implementations such as software, hardware, infrastructure and networking needs on the main campus and its affiliates. The responsible unit/committee would determine the fair use of budget/funds distribution and placement of technology throughout the campuses.

Monthly or bi-weekly technology meetings comprised of all systems/technology departments on the campuses would be needed in order to stay abreast and keep the budgeting unit apprised of what departmental needs are most urgent and important in order to function.

This would mean cost savings in software, hardware, time and labor.”

Restructuring FAMU for Program Productivity and Efficiency – Recommendations

“I believe the University’s all Colleges, Institutes and Centers need to be restructured at a time to achieve revitalization. I have the following recommendations for the new College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences:1.College’s new name sounds great for the recruitment, faculty collaboration and employment.2.School of Agriculture Sciences SHOULD READ School of Agricultural Sciences.3.School of Environmental Sciences is OK.4.Name of new School of Veterinary Medicine may be changed to School of Veterinary Sciences.5.Each school’s faculty, staff and students come together to strengthen academic, research, extension, and outreach programs.”

“Observation 1: The Engineering Technology programs are listed under the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences as part of the School of Agricultural Sciences (no direct association).

Observation 2: The College of Science and Technology has only one program other than Information Technology listed as Technology.

Observation 3: The conversational presentation of students matriculating towards an Engineering Technology degree would have to say I am in the School of Agricultural Sciences or The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences which would not be a great selling point.

Suggestive Observation 1: Since there is a College of Science and Technology, the Engineering Technology programs would academically and strategically fit with the College of Science and Technology.

Suggestive Observation 2: Since all of the academic areas listed under the College of Science and Technology are Departmental in structure, the Engineering Technology should be structured accordingly.

Suggestive Observation 3: Since the students are matriculating towards an Engineering Technology degree, the conversational presentation of students could proudly say I am in the College of Science and Technology which is quite an advantageous tool of recruitment (= dollars and talent magnet).

A thought:Title III was a major source of funding for the Engineering Technology programs (Electronic, Civil and Construction). If the Engineering Programs are restructured to fit under the College of Science and Technology, it would have an opportunity to request funding for new visions to grow. Also, allow each individual program to request funding from Title III, so if one program fails to comply with Title III regulations, all programs will not suffer a loss.”

Restructuring Plan

January 5, 2011

Dear Dr. Hughes Harris:

These are some additional comments and suggestions for the restructuring of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). I believe this process will be more productive and smoother with better communication between the faculty and administration. Better communication should start by ensuring that both parties are speaking the same language. In this case, the language is definitions of academic units and positions. This may sound trivial, but I have discovered that sometimes many faculty members and administrators do not always know the basic definitions of academic units and positions. In other words, the obvious may not always be so obvious. Therefore, below are some of the terms I think should be defined and their impact on academic quality and cost should be agreed upon before the restructuring plan is implemented.

The following are ideas for the reorganization of the proposed College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. The primary intent of these recommendations is to increase efficiency, relieve faculty of responsibilities that could be performed by others without doctoral degrees, distribute responsibilities in a fairer and more equitable way, enhance the quality of instruction, and increase funding

Role & Responsibilities of Department Chaira. Each Department should have a Chair at .70 FTE who teaches one course/semester.b. Primary responsibilities of the Chair should include the following: i. Grantsmanship: Chairs should have as a primary responsibility the procurement of external funding for their Department. ii. Strategic planning: Chairs should provide leadership in the development of the Department’s strategic plan. iii. Program oversight: Chairs should supervise Program Directors. iv. Supervision of faculty & staff and program evaluation: Chairs should conduct annual evaluations of faculty and staff. v. Program development: Chairs should provide leadership in the development of new programs and initiatives consistent with the Department’s strategic plan. vi. Convening and meeting with Advisory Group composed of national/international, regional, and local leaders that can provide support to the Department and its programs/activities. Chairs should establish relationships with those within the community, professional associations, and local, regional, and national organizations on behalf of their Department.

“Consider bringing the Construction Technology Program under the School of Architecture.”

Restricting Idea Technology

FAMU can save thousands of dollars if the university had a university wide intranet & internet connectivity and application servers.

IntranetWhat is an Intranet - Is an internal private computer network connection, where access will be restricted to FAMU employees. This access will allow in-house (FAMU Only) transfer of data over a network using the internet protocols like hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) and file transfer protocol (FTP). This can be use for ease of information sharing and communication with the FAMU community.· Database development and research data tracking opportunities to be shared across discipline and diverse utilization of research sources.· Increase the amount of researches information that can be stored and analyzed across disciplines· Expansion of data analysis and its complexity for data access· Increase Researchers intra-networking collaboration more widely and efficiently· Increase the use of computer networking for research and workforce development and enhancement· Better protection of sensitive and secure material.

InternetWhat is Internet – Is worldwide a public network environment access is globally.

Application ServersWhat is Application Servers – and application server is used to run certain kinds of applications; for example several word processing application, spreadsheet, desktop publishing programs, all type of applications. The advantage of using this type of server is that the entire campus will have the same update software and version throughout plus it will cut down on college, schools, divisions and departments purchasing of software and other technology upgrades that should be ongoing. Not that each department should get rid of their servers and technology but enhance them for better services for teaching, learning, research and development for FAMU employers.

All FAMU colleges, schools, divisions and departments need up-to-date software and technology. I believe the university can save thousands of dollars and see the returns on investment immediately with this change.

Academic Affairs Restructuring Recommendations

“In my opinion, the proposed College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences should be - College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. In other words, Engineering Technology should be moved to the proposed College of Science and Technology and Biology should be moved with Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. These three areas (Agriculture, Biology and environmental Sciences) represent life sciences in general and have common knowledge and research base. There’s no need for separate schools, one college should do. This will reduce duplication of programs and services. Both, faculty and students, will benefit from enhanced interaction and the University will have increased research grant activity.”

The Proposed Academic Structure

“A new College of Science and Technology is proposed. I think that the Engineering Technology programs, now currently under CESTA, would more efficiently belong in this new College. A new College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences is proposed. This proposed new College should not just be a new designation that encompasses two existing programs. The curricula and degree offerings from these two existing programs should be integrated to prevent redundancy and more efficiently take advantage of the strengths each area. I believe that Biology it would also make sense to move Biology into the new College.”

Letter to the Provost

Dear Vice President Hughes-Harris:

Thank you for giving the faculty an opportunity to comment and express our views on the proposed Restructuring Plan for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Even though my mind is on the holiday season, I felt compelled to express my views and feelings on this matter. Also, I don’t think most faculty members will consider this a high priority because when the communication was received, most had already left for the holidays and will be very busy with registration and classes during the first two weeks in January.

I am in partial in agreement with the Program Productivity Methodology as presented, but there should be at least one additional data criterion. The additional criterion should be “quality of graduates”. Why? Quality of graduates can be objectively measured by the number of graduates who attend graduate and professional schools in their disciplines or closely related disciplines and successfully complete the program. The academic reputation of the school attended should also be considered when judging the quality of the products we produce. I believe that in order to be the best our products must compete against the best. Our graduates’ success in earning advanced degrees is one of the best measures to determine if we are producing competitive products.”

“In my opinion, the proposed College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences should be - College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. In other words, Engineering Technology should be moved to the proposed College of Science and Technology and Biology should be moved with Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. These three areas (Agriculture, Biology and environmental Sciences) represent life sciences in general and have common knowledge and research base. There’s no need for separate schools, one college should do. This will reduce duplication of programs and services. Both, faculty and students, will benefit from enhanced interaction and the University will have increased research grant activity.”

Negotiate The Cost of Shipping and Handling Fees With Vendors

“As discussed at the President's Forum a suggestion was made on methods to cut operational cost for the University. It was suggested that each department make a conscience effort to start negotiating the cost of shipping and handling charges with Vendors that do business with the University. As an employee of the University's Controller's Office in Account-Payables, I've observed thousands of invoices that have additional charges of shipping and handling, some warranted and others unwarranted. There is a shipping industry that handle the shipping of merchandise all over the world. This industry does exist and it a thriving industry. The attempt here is not to avoid the shipping cost, just simply defer it to the vendor or get the less expensive version. Florida A&M University is a large entity with more than a few resources it would be a wise business decision to use this economic advantage to our advantage. As such we should consider ourselves as customers whenever ordering from a vendor after all we actually are we are one big customer named FAMU. Some if not most vendors appreciate our business and from that standpoint are willing to waive or discount the shipping and handling cost of shipping merchandise to us. For example if I spend $1,000.00 with you, you would be willing to waive $25.00 worth of shipping in order to secure the sale. Here are things to keep in mind when placing an order with a Vendor. 1.) Ask if Vendor would be willing to waive shipping charges. 2.) How much business does the University do with this particular Vendor. 3.) Is there a comparable Vendor that does waive the shipping cost on orders to the University, i.e, My Office Product, Executive Office Supply and now most recent to be added to this list is VWR. Sometimes it is to the University advantage to shop around a bit. 4.) Try to keep up with the inventory of supplies to avoid needing things urgently. This will cut the more expensive type of shipping such as overnight rates. These are just a few things that will help cut the cost of shipping and handling. It may not always work out in your favor, but it doesn't hurt to try in these hard economical times. And remember a dollar saved is a dollar earned.”

Make FAMU Email the Official Means of Communication for University Students

“University correspondence could then be sent to student’s FAMU email addresses instead of by the U.S. Postal Service. Many Universities in the SUS only send information via mail to prospective students and incoming freshman. They do not send paper to current students. This would save money for the cost of paper, envelopes, printers, printing supplies, and postage. Currently many offices on campus mail information to thousands of students. A good majority of that mail comes back undeliverable because students do not update their addresses in iRattler.”

Implement Distance Learning Programs

“For the thousands of students who started and never finished their degree at FAMU. Online degree at FAMU. Online degree completion programs would sure to be a success.”

Reorganize the College of Arts and Sciences

“I recommend a reorganization of the College of Arts and Sciences. I am not knowledgeable enough to usefully suggest how the Humanities and Social Sciences should be organized, but I am certain of how the Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science should be organized. I recommend a new College of Natural Sciences to result from splitting Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, and Computer Science off from the existing College of Arts and Sciences. I also recommend that Environmental Science be a part of the College of Natural Sciences.

College of Natural Sciences

Physics

Environmental Science

Chemistry

Mathematics

Biology

Computer Science

The current College of Arts and Sciences is too large to allow for efficient administration. It is difficult to achieve any focus because of the divergent interests. The College of Arts and Sciences is currently subdivided into three different divisions, which are lead by three different Associate Deans. The problems associated with this structure are well known and I will not recount them here other than to make the point that to somehow formalize this substructure would at best have no effect, and at worst, exacerbate the current problems.

A College of Natural Sciences composed as described above would be a vital and dynamic organization, which could focus its personnel and resources towards a goal of the highest national priority—the advancement of STEM education and research in the U.S. training predominantly American students. The six departments have much commonality of goals and methods. There is a great potential for enhanced symbiotic activity and collaborative educational and research activity. This should and could be lead by the college leadership. Three of the six departments are already very research active. The other three could be greatly strengthened by a closer and directed relationship facilitated by the college leadership. Expanded Ph.D. programs would be much more feasible in the new college facilitated by cross-disciplinary activity. There is a great potential for a multiplier effect such that the totality of the college achievement would be greater than the sum of its parts—this is currently not the case. A program could be designed to enhance the research output in terms of Ph.D. degrees, publications, and research funding. It would require discipline on the part of the college administrators and faculty and some faculty may not like it—however, those faculty who are research productive need to be supported and their potential for productivity enhanced. The expectation from these researchers however would be high.

I strongly recommend this reorganization. It is in FAMU’s best interest and the best interests of the United States.”

Improve the Campus Appearance and Extend the Hours of the Campus Library

“I believe that the appearance campus wide needs to be reconstructed…the landscape, the buildings, and the houses around campus. Yes, the houses around campus are historic, but they can be refurbished to look nice. I also think the library needs to be open 24 hours and be improved with better equipment to enhance our learning. I hate that if I want to study late, I have to go to Florida State library. Then walk into their library and see what all those students have access to. I love my university and will do all that I can do to improve it.”

Boost Enrollment Through the Recruiting of Students from Nigeria

In the light of this trying economic time for FAMU and for the fact that our able President James Ammons has articulated his desires and visions to put FAMU on international/global map, I am hereby offering my service (s) to assist him/FAMU in the following areas:

I know and realize that FAMU wants to globalize the institution. However, we (FAMU) must start from somewhere or from where the yield on ROI is greatest (look at the trend). Since 1973 over 1,800 Nigerians have graduated from FAMU and most are back in Nigeria. These potential alumni are holding some key positions in local, state, and Federal governments. I have already initiated the possibility of forming the FAMU Alumni Association of Nigeria.

I, Dr. Adai S. Ibrahim of the OIR want to be FAMU’s Recruitment “Foot-Soldier” in Nigeria.

Traveling and/ or conversing the entire 36 states of Nigeria propagating the programs and services to targeted high schools, professional associations, parents’ associations, teachers colleges, and other colleges and universities in the country.

Since 1973 over 1,800 Nigerians have graduated from FAMU and most are back in Nigeria. These potential alumni are holding some key positions in local, state, and Federal governments. I have already initiated the possibility of forming the FAMU Alumni Association of Nigeria with some.

Recruitment Criteria (How?):

Targeting students with academic potentials, have high Test Scores/GPA scores, and have proven resources to pay out-of-state fees

Will encourage The FAMU Alumni Association of Nigeria (FAAN) to provide financial assistance to some students with GREAT potential but lack the necessary financial support**. (**: As long as FAMU will allow such needy students to pay in-state fees).

Selected students who have met all academic requirements/criteria to be admitted, should be issued only a tentative admission letters stating that their final admission letters will be issued pending that time when they have made an advanced deposit to the school. This deposit may be equal or greater than the estimated first year costs.

Dr. Ibrahim shall be able to recruit at least 75 students in the first year, and/or 100 more annually the year after.

FAMU shall be responsible for Dr. Ibrahim’s annual salary for the entire period is on this mission (payment shall be based on quarterly basis).

NOTE: CONSERVATIVELY, THIS INITIATIVE CAN YEILD AN ESTIMATED $1,600,000 ANNUALLY TO FAMU.

The university must preserve recruitment because it is the core of the university. Office of Recruitment, Office of Admissions, New Student Orientation, Financial Aid and Registrar’s Office. Staff will be cross trained in various departments in Enrollment Management. Recruitment and scholarship will work with the new Honors College that will be established. This department will adhere to all of the proposed academic structure changes. Training will be established in recruitment, degree programs (Undergraduate & Graduate), travel, customer service, professionalism, and etc. Workshops will be provides each semester. Each recruiter will be assigned a territory (in state, out-of-state, internationally). Each recruiter will be assigned Alumni Chapters that will be coordinated through the Office of Alumni Affairs.